Brabham BT38 car-by-car histories
Wilson Fittipaldi in his Brabham BT38 at Thruxton in 1972. Copyright Ted Walker 2012. Used with permission.
The 1972 F2 Brabham BT38 was based on the 1971 BT36, but was a monocoque instead of a spaceframe. MRD records state 16 were built, but there is evidence of 19 or 20 cars being raced.
Please note: for the Formula B variant, see Brabham BT38B; for the Formula 3 variant, see Brabham BT38C.
The Brabham BT38 was MRD's first production monocoque, but despite suggestions that a monocoque was Bernie Ecclestone's suggestion, work started on the BT38 in February 1971, six months before Ecclestone acquired MRD. The car was designed by Geoff Ferris, who had worked on the Lotus 72 and the March 711, with Ron Tauranac in overall control. It used a simple square section bathtub monocoque which finished just behind the driver, with the engine and gearbox mounted in a tubular sub assembly. Suspension followed traditional Brabham lines, with outboard springs and double wishbones at the front; single reversed A-bracket, top link and radius arms at the rear. Radiators were either side of the driver, with a flat nose and side wings. Brabham's design team at the time also included F1 designer Ralph Bellamy, aerodynamicist Ray Jessop and a young South African lad called Gordon Murray.
The three models were BT38 for Formula 2, BT38B for Formula B, and BT38C for Formula 3. The square section aluminium bathtub monocoque was common to the three models, but the F2 BT38 and F3 BT38C had 16 gauge outer skins, while the FB BT38B used 18 gauge. The F2 BT38 was equipped with a Hewland FT200 gearbox (like the BT38B but different to the Hewland Mk 8 in the BT38C) and had two side radiators (also like the BT38B, and unlike the BT38C that had only one). The F2 had two 10½-gallon tanks (the BT38B had two 8-gallon tanks, and the BT38C had two 5½-gallon tanks).
In a cunning ploy to give the impression MRD had sold more cars than they had, BT38, BT38B and BT38C chassis numbers all started from 11. However, for reasons that are not at all clear, the car built for Graham Hill was given the chassis number BT38/1.
Graham Hill's Jägermeister-sponsored Brabham BT38 at Hockenheim in October 1972. Copyright owned by Oliver Schimpf (original photographer Ferdi Kräling) 2020. Used with permission.
Jack Finucan in the Brabham BT38-based Osprey Can-Am car in 1978. Copyright Jack Finucan 2005. Used with permission.
Built by KayDon Racing on behalf of MRD and initially designed to be works Formula 2 entry for Graham Hill. Hill was also leading the Brabham F1 team for 1972, so was not planning a full season of F2. When Hill acquired sponsorship from Jägermeister, a German liqueur maker, a deal was done for the car to be run by KayDon Racing, a new operation set up by former MRD employees David Kaylor and John Donnelly in Cobham. After borrowing a BT36 for the team's first two races, the BT38 was ready for the Pau Grand Prix in early May. The chassis number of the new car was reported to be BT38-1, which was odd as all other BT38 chassis numbers were 11 or above. This may have been to simplify carnet arangements as the BT36 which had already been taken to Hockenheim was chassis number BT36-1. In Hill's second race in the BT38, at Crystal Palace, he crashed heavily at the start of Heat 2 and the car had to be rebuilt on a new monocoque prior to the next race. He competed in six more races, including a win at Monza in June. The BT38 remained unused at Graham Hill Racing during 1973, and was sold at the end of the year to Tom Ogilvy for Tony Charnell (Dumfries, Scotland) to drive in libre in 1974, still with a 2-litre BDA. It was sold to Dean Dietrich (Hinsdale, IL) for 1975, and was raced in Formula B. Dietrich advertised it during 1976, and raced it again in Formula A in 1977. Dan Hartill (Indianapolis, IN) and Jack Finucan then acquired it from Dietrich, together with a body from Dietrich's Lola T294 and two 2-litre Cosworth FVC engines. They fitted the body and engines to the BT38, and ran it in Can-Am as the Osprey SR1 and ran it in a few races. Its history after 1978 is not yet understood, but at some point, believed to be around 1986, it was acquired from the US by Alan Miles, and brought back to England. In 2017, Jon Waggitt of SSCC Motorsport (Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire) acquired the car and started a thorough restoration. Sold in 2020 to Oliver Schimpf, son of the Jägermeister Racing Principal Eckhard "Ecki" Schimpf. Still in the Schimpfs' collection in June 2023.
Driven by: Graham Hill, Tony Charnell, Dean Dietrich and Dan Hartill. First race: Pau (R4), 7 May 1972. Total of 23 recorded races.
New for Motul Rondel Racing in 1972, and raced by Carlos Reutemann. Crashed in practice at its second race and replaced with new car, BT38/26.
Driven by: Carlos Reutemann. First race: Mallory Park (R1), 12 Mar 1972. Only one recorded race.
Henri Pescarolo in the Rondel Brabham BT38 at Hockenheim in October 1972. Copyright Walter C Harbers III 2021. Used with permission.
Jackie Pretorius in his Brabham BT38 at Kyalami in 1973. Copyright David Pearson (motoprint.co.za) 2024. Used with permission.
New for Motul Rondel Racing in 1972, and raced by Bob Wollek, Henri Pescarolo (who won at Enna-Pergusa), and others. One of a group of cars sold to South Africa after the Torneio do Brasil. Raced by Jackie Pretorius in 1973, using an Alan Smith Cosworth FVC, then to John Amm for 1974. Converted to Formula Atlantic and raced again by Amm in 1976. It was retained by John Amm until 1994 and then sold to Dickon Daggitt who had the car restored by Peanuts Fouche in Cape Town. After the restoration, it was sold to Thomas Koch some time around 1997-1999, and exported to the US. Then sold to Terry Allard (Denver, CO) some time before 2005.
Driven by: Bob Wollek, Henri Pescarolo, Reine Wisell, Carlos Reutemann, Max Jean ("Jean Max"), Jackie Pretorius and John Amm. First race: Mallory Park (R1), 12 Mar 1972. Total of 32 recorded races.
Claudio Francisci in his Brabham BT38 in the Thruxton F2 race in 1972. Copyright Ted Walker 2019. Used with permission.
Entered by Elcom Racing Team for Claudio Francisci in F2 in 1972, using 1.8-litre Novamotor Cosworth BDE engines. It was reported to have swapped chassis plates with Carlos Reutemann's BT38/11, but the story is quite confused. It is interesting that Sport Auto reported the chassis number of this car as BT38/11 at Rouen in June. Subsequent history unknown, but it should be noted that this is a different car to Eligio Siconolfi's Brabham BT38B-13, which later appeared in Can-Am.
Driven by: Claudio Francisci. First race: Thruxton (R2), 3 Apr 1972. Total of 9 recorded races.
Bob Schutt in his ex-Rondel Brabham BT38 at Mid-America Raceway in 1975. Copyright Jeff Luebker 2021. Used with permission.
Brand new for Motul Rondel Racing at Oulton Park at the end of March 1972, and raced there by Tim Schenken, who finished second. For Schenken again at Thruxton a few days later, then for Derek Bell at Nürburgring at the end of April, by Jean Max at Pau, and by Jean-Pierre Beltoise at Crystal Palace and Rouen. Schenken used the car for the rest of the season, winning at Hockenheim in October. Sold to John Powell (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) for Formula B in 1973. Sold to Bob Schutt (Kirkwood, MO) at Watkins Glen at the end of 1973, and used by him in Mid West Division FB racing. In the early 1980s, Schutt sold the car to Bob Willis (St Louis, MO), who is believed to still own it in 2019.
Driven by: Tim Schenken, Henri Pescarolo, Derek Bell, Max Jean ("Jean Max"), Jean-Pierre Beltoise, John Powell, Bob Schutt and Robert Willis. First race: Oulton Park, 31 Mar 1972. Total of 29 recorded races.
Bill O'Connor's Rondel-nosed Brabham BT38 at Mosport in 1973. Copyright Peter Viccary (gladiatorroadracing.ca) 2021. Used with permission.
New for Motul Rondel Racing at Hockenheim in mid-April 1972, and raced all season by Bob Wolleck. Raced once by Carlos Reutemann at Enna. Sold to Bill O'Connor (Highland Park, IL) for Formula B for 1973. To Chuck Dietrich (Sandusky, OH) for 1974, then fitted with a Cosworth BDA for 1975, 1976 and 1977. He continued to race it in 1978, but at the age of 53 was appearing less often. This was presumably the Brabham he drove in 1979, but by 1980 he had replaced it with a Lola T460. The subsequent history of the Brabham is unknown.
Driven by: Bob Wollek, Carlos Reutemann, Bill O'Connor and Chuck Dietrich. First race: Hockenheim (R3), 16 Apr 1972. Total of 48 recorded races.
Tom O'Leary in his Brabham BT38 at Mondello Park. Copyright The O'Leary family 2018. Used with permission.
Sold originally to the Elf-Coombs team but not used, and sold to Edward Reeves Racing as a spare for the team's new BT38 being raced by David Morgan. When Morgan wrecked the regular car at the 'Ring, he took over BT38/16. Oddly, this car was sometimes described as BT38/15. After the season, BT38/16 went to MRE in part-exchange for a new BT40, and was sold on to Tom O'Leary (Dalkey, County Dublin) for Formula Ireland racing. O'Leary rarely raced it, and is reported to have crashed it at Mondello Park when the front brake pads fell out. As the car probably needed a new tub, it was sold and replaced with a BT40. The BT38 was eventually sold by MRE in August 1974 to Mike Rocke (Livermore, CA), who used in in SCCA Formula B in 1974 and 1975. Crashed in 1975 and rebuilt on a replacement tub before being sold to someone in California in 1976. Then unknown until bought by Steve Petersen (Sedalia, CO) from Tom Christ around 2001. The car had been rebuilt on a Pat Price tub, fitted with a Jennings 2-liter BDG engine, and was raced by Peterson with RMVR from 2003 onwards. Peterson died in the summer of 2017, and the car was advertised on behalf of his wife Lori over the next year. In July 2018 it was reported to have been sold, but would be staying in Colorado. The new owner's name is not known.
Driven by: David Morgan, Tom O'Leary and Mike Rocke. First race: Pau (R4), 7 May 1972. Total of 15 recorded races.
Ron Cumming in his heavily modified Brabham BT38 at Ingliston in July 1979. Copyright Iain Nicolson 2021. Used with permission.
Brand new for Richard Scott at Oulton Park at the end of March 1972, and used by him through the 1972 F2 season. To Alan Padgett (Pocklington, East Riding of Yorkshire) for 1973, fitted with an 1850cc Cosworth BDE and used in hillclimbs. To David Baumforth (North Newbald, East Riding of Yorkshire) for hillclimbs and prints in 1974, then to John Hinley (Knowle, Warwickshire) for sprints in 1975. It was acquired by Tony Griffiths (Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands) for 1976, then to chef Paul Edwards (London), who used it extensively in sprints in 1977 and 1978. To Ron Cumming (Kemnay, Aberdeenshire, Scotland) for libre racing in 1979, when it still had a 1800cc BDE engine. Cumming crashed the car in a race at Ingliston, probably in May 1979, and rebuilt it using a replacement monocoque supplied by Jim Stevenson. The car was then sold, less engine, to somebody in Essex. About seven years later, it was acquired by Chris Perkins (Ashbourne, Derbyshire), still in the distinctive orange-and-white livery used by Cumming in 1979 and with evidence of where the March 79B-style sidpods had been fitted, but now with a Buick V8 engine in the process of installation. Perkins's recollection is that he bought the car in the Brighton area in the mid-1980s; Autosport mention his purchase in December 1987. Still with Perkins in kit form in February 2021. Still owned by Perkins in December 2023.
Driven by: Richard Scott, Alan Padgett, David Baumforth, John Hinley, Tony Griffiths, Paul Edwards and Ron Cumming. First race: Oulton Park, 31 Mar 1972. Total of 45 recorded races.
New to the French ASCA team, and first seen when driven by Jean-Pierre Jaussaud at Thruxton on Easter Monday 1972. Jaussaud won at Hockenheim in this car in mid-April, and finished second at the same venue in June. The car was heavily damaged at Rouen on 25 June, in an incident with Henri Pescarolo's Brabham, and it was replaced with "a new chassis". Subsequent history unknown, but reports from Spain say that this was the car acquired by Eugenio Baturone for Spanish hillclimbs.
Driven by: Jean-Pierre Jaussaud. First race: Thruxton (R2), 3 Apr 1972. Total of 6 recorded races.
Brand new for Tom Belsø at Oulton Park at the end of March 1972, entered by Team Viking. Raced by Belsø in F2 all season, then converted to Formula Atlantic for a couple of races late in the year. For sale during much of 1973, then to Tom Foster (Modesto, CA) for SCCA Formula B and ICSCC events from 1974 to 1977. Ron Householder (Portland, OR) then bought it for the engine, and sold the car in July 1978 to Kevin Skinner (Langley, BC, Canada). He won the ICSCC Formula B class in 1979, winning his class in seven races. In 2013, he still owned the car.
Driven by: Tom Belsø, Tom Foster and Kevin Skinner. First race: Oulton Park, 31 Mar 1972. Total of 40 recorded races.
Brand new for Edward Reeves Racing at Oulton Park at the end of March 1972, and raced by David Morgan. It was seriously damaged at its third race, a non-championship event at Nürburgring in late April, and was replaced with another BT38 acquired from the Coombs team.
Driven by: David Morgan. First race: Oulton Park, 31 Mar 1972. Total of 3 recorded races.
Silvio Moser in his Brabham BT38 at Crystal Palace in 1972. Copyright Richard Evans 2021. Used with permission.
New for Silvio Moser (Lugano, Switzerland) at the Eifelrennen at the Nürburgring on 30 April 1972, where it was run for him by Scuderia Del Lario, and sponsored by Marlboro. Raced by Moser in most F2 races in 1972. To Freddy Amweg (Ammerswil, Switzerland) for 1973, and used in a few F2 races, but more often in the Swiss national championship. To Jorg Siegrist (Lucerne, Switzerland) for 1974, when it was fitted with a Cosworth BDG, and used in Swiss and German events, as well as a few F2 races. Subsequent history unknown, but in July 2012, this car was advertised by Lutziger Classic Cars (Rudolfstetten, Switzerland). It had been restored by Peter Denty, was fitted with a Cosworth BDG engine, and was in Amweg's livery.
Driven by: Silvio Moser, Alfred "Freddy" Amweg and Jorg Siegrist. First race: Nürburgring, 30 Apr 1972. Total of 30 recorded races.
Donald MacLeod (left) and Christopher Wigdor with the Brabham BT38 they had hired for the Formula Atlantic race at Snetterton on Easter Monday 1974. Copyright Christopher Wigdor 2021. Used with permission.
New to Frank Williams for his Italian customer Giancarlo Gagliardi, and run in F2 in 1972 using Cosworth BDE engines maintained by Novamotor. Gagliardi first appeared in the car at Crystal Palace at the end of May, where he was one of the slowest. After three more uninspiring performances, he dropped out, and the BT38 was next seen at the Rothmans 50,000 in August, where it was entered by Robs Lamplough's Fiddlers Three Racing for Tony Trimmer, having been acquired by Lamplough the Friday before the race. Trimmer could not qualify, but finished fifth in a short consolation race. It was acquired by David Cole for 1973, but used mainly in libre racing. The car appeared once in Formula Atlantic in 1974, driven by Donald MacLeod who had borrowed it from Cole. It was then exported to the US, and was next seen in the hands of Dick Zibert (Tiburon, CA) in mid-1975. Carl von Doymi (Greenbrae, CA) reportedly "tried out" Zibert's Brabham when it first appeared in July 1975. Zibert had moved up through Formula Vee and Formula Super Vee, and raced the white #11 Brabham BT38 in North Pacific Division SCCA Nationals and Regionals until 1978. Towards the end of Zibert's time with the car, he cut off the tub's outer skins in an attempt to make a ground-effect car, but this was aborted, and the car was sold to John Hafkenschiel in November 1988, as a pile of parts. Hafkenschiel had the tub repaired by Marc Bahner, who used Hafkenschiel's BT38B tub as a template. Still owned by John Hafkenschiel in January 2023, by which time it had been restored to 1972 Formula 2 specification and was fitted with a fuel-injected alloy-block BDG engine.
Driven by: Giancarlo Gagliardi, Tony Trimmer, David Cole, Donald MacLeod and Dick Zibert. First race: Hockenheim (R6), 11 Jun 1972. Total of 17 recorded races.
Brand new for Peter Westbury, and run by Felday International Racing & Sportscar Team, using engines from Westbury's Felday Engineering. The Brabham first appeared in the Eifelrennen at the Nürburgring on 30 April 1972, but crashed heavily during the race, causing "serious damage" to the monocoque. The car was rebuilt around a new monocoque in time for the Pau Grand Prix a week later. Westbury did not appear at all F2 races, but did run in the Rothmans 50,000 in August, where he used a 1997cc Felday alloy-block engine. Unused in 1973, and for sale from Dorking in November 1973. Subsequent history unknown, but may be the car raced by David Jackson many years later in Classic F3.
Driven by: Peter Westbury. First race: Nürburgring, 30 Apr 1972. Total of 8 recorded races.
New to the French ASCA team, and first seen when driven by Count Adam Potocki at Hockenheim in mid-April 1972. After a few slow races with Potocki, this car was taken over by ASCA teammate Jean-Pierre Jaussaud for the Österreichring and Imola races, the Frenchman having wrecked his regular car at Rouen. It then returned to be Potocki's car to the end of the season.
Driven by: Adam Potocki and Jean-Pierre Jaussaud. First race: Hockenheim (R3), 16 Apr 1972. Total of 7 recorded races.
Wilson Fittipaldi in his Bardahl Brabham BT38 at Hockenheim in October 1972. Copyright Walter C Harbers III 2021. Used with permission.
New to Team Bardahl for Wilson Fittipaldi to drive in the 1972 F2 season. Wilson started the season with poor results, but improved significantly after the car was rebuilt by former Brabham and Surtees man Alain Fenn, who widened the front suspension, fitted a Chevron-like wide nose and moved the radiators from the side to the front. Fitipaldi finished fourth on the revised car's debut at Enna in August and fourth again at Hockenheim in October. He raced the car in the Brazilian F2 Torneio, finishing third and fourth in the first two races, but then crashed heavily in practice at Interlagos, and the car was rapidly rebuilt overnight on a spare monocoque acquired from the Rondel team. He finished a very impressive fifth in Heat 1, and was running third in Heat 2 behind World Champion brother Emerson and new F2 champion Mike Hailwood before dropping back. Subsequent history unknown, but it is quite possible that the car remained in Brazil. In 2020, it was reported that the car had been part of the JORM collection ("Coleção J. O. R. M.") of José Oswaldo Ribeiro de Mendonça (São Paulo, Brazil) before his death in December 2018. The collection was managed in 2017 by Paulo "Louco" Figueiredo.
Driven by: Wilson Fittipaldi. First race: Thruxton (R2), 3 Apr 1972. Total of 14 recorded races.
New for Motul Rondel Racing in May 1972, replacing BT38/11, and raced by Carlos Reutemann. Also raced by Gerry Birrell at Albi, when Reutemann was away racing in the Canadian GP. Reutemann left the Rondel team after the Hockenheim race at the beginning of October, following a disagreement over engines, and the car was raced by Ronnie Peterson in the Brazilian F2 series. Sold by Rondel to Tom Klausler (Palatine, IL) for Formula B in 1973, and won at Trois-Rivières in September. Then advertised by Roy Witz (Arlington Heights, IL) in mid-1974, then sold to John Kowalski (Berea, OH) for Formula Atlantic in 1975. Kowalski advertised it in December 1975 as "ex Klausler", still with its "big valve Hart" engine. Used by Kowalski in early 1976, but he then upgraded to a newer Lola T360. The Brabham is believed to have gone to Dr Mike Orgel (Ladue, MO), who raced a Brabham BT38 in Formula B and then Formula Atlantic in SCCA Midwest Division events from 1977 to 1980. After driving in Regionals in 1977, he won the MidDiv Regional title in 1978, and scored 10 points in Nationals that year. He did not appear in the points table for 1979, but scored one point in 1980 in a Brabham BT38. It would then be the "ex-Peterson" car acquired at some point from Orgel by Bob Willis (St Louis, MO), who also owned the Rondel sister car BT38/14. Willis was believed to still own it in 2019.
Driven by: Carlos Reutemann, Gerry Birrell, Ronnie Peterson, Tom Klausler, John Kowalski and Mike Orgel. First race: Crystal Palace (R5), 29 May 1972. Total of 35 recorded races.
Tommy Reid in his Brabham BT38/40 at Ingliston in April 1974. Copyright Iain Nicolson 2021. Used with permission.
New to Tommy Reid (Tandragee, County Armagh, Northern Ireland) for 1972, and fitted with a 2-litre Chevrolet Vega for Formula Ireland racing. Updated to BT40 specification for 1973 but retained the Vega engine, and won numerous races that season. Retained for Formule Libre in 1974 when Ireland moved to Formula Atlantic, and won several races at Ingliston. Retained by Reid for many years, appearing in the first historic races at Kirkistown in 1983. In a private collection in Northern Ireland in November 2014.
Driven by: Tommy Reid. First race: Mondello Park, 7 Aug 1972. Total of 21 recorded races.
Richard Shardlow in his Brabham BT38 at Great Auclum in 1973. Copyright Ted Walker 2019. Used with permission.
New to Tate of Leeds (Racing) and driven by Chris Meek in British Formula Atlantic in 1972. To Bobby Howlings and raced briefly in libre in 1973, then on to Richard Shardlow (Baslow, Derbyshire) and raced in British hillclimbs from June onwards, fitted with a Rondel Cosworth BDE. To Alister Douglas-Osborn (West Hagley, Worcestershire) for 1974 and hillclimbed again, now with a 2.0 Hart Cosworth BDG. Retained by "ADO" for 1975 but modified by Pilbeam (as the 'R15') and raced with a 2.2-litre BDG, winning one British championship hillclimb and also two RAC sprint events at the end of the season. Modified further by Pilbeam for 1976 as the R22, and fitted with a F1 Cosworth DFV V8 engine. In this form it won six RAC British championship rounds in 1976, as well as winning the Guyson BARC series. Used again in this form in 1977, winning seven RAC rounds and both the RAC and BARC titles, but the car was written off in a crash at Doune in September. What was salvageable was used in the construction of a new Pilbeam MP22 for Malcolm Dungworth for 1978.
Driven by: Chris Meek, Bobby Howlings, Richard Shardlow, Alister Douglas-Osborn, Chris Cramer, Peter Voigt and Tony Bancroft. First race: Snetterton (R13), 9 Jul 1972. Total of 113 recorded races.
Warren Pauge's March-bodied Brabham BT38 at Sears Point in 1980. Copyright Kurt Oblinger 2021. Used with permission.
A "new chassis" replacing the ASCA team's Brabham BT38 wrecked by Jean-Pierre Jaussaud at Rouen. It was raced by teammate Adam Potocki at Imola, where Potocki failed to qualify, and was then Jaussaud's car for the rest of the season. ASCA entered Jaussaud in the Brazilian F2 Torneio, but he was involved in the startline accident at the second Interlagos race, and the Brabham was badly damaged. According to Chris Townsend's research, this car was acquired by Fred Opert Racing and raced by Héctor Rebaque in the Caracas Formula B race in March 1973, then by Brian Robertson in the JAF Grand Prix in May 1973. It is not clear what else Opert used it for in 1973, but in January 1974, he sold it to John Bernadine (Tulsa, OK) for SCCA Formula B. Then to Warren Pauge (Hacienda Heights, CA) in August 1975, replacing his well-used Brabham BT21. Pauge retained the BT38 for many years, even running it as a Can-Am car once in 1982. After he finally stopped racing it in 1988, he sold it to Marc Bahner, then it went to George Steven in 1992, Tom Stapleton about 2008, and Paul Skilowitz (Stuart, FL) in 2016.
Driven by: Adam Potocki, Jean-Pierre Jaussaud, Héctor Rebaque, Brian Robertson, John Bernadine and Warren "Bud" Pauge. First race: Mantorp Park (R10), 6 Aug 1972. Total of 42 recorded races.
Brabham BT38s from 1973 to 1975
The histories above cover 20 distinct and identifiable BT38s. Of these, two (BT38/11 and BT38/20) were wrecked during the 1972 season. Two more cannot be traced after the end of 1972: Claudio Francisci's BT38/13, which was last seen at the final F2 race of the European season, and Wilson Fittipaldi's BT38/25 which was wrecked during the Brazilian series but rebuilt on a spare tub.
That leaves 16 that can be traced into 1973 and thereafter, including eight (BT38/1, BT38/14, BT38/15, BT38/16, BT38/19, BT38/22, BT38/26 and BT38/'33') were sold to North America for Formula B and Formula Atlantic, and two (BT38/17 and BT38/28) that stayed in England for a life in sprints and hillclimbs. Of the remaining six, five had definable careers overseas: BT38/12 went to South Africa, BT38/21 to Switzerland, and BT38/27 to Ireland; and the two ASCA cars (BT38/18 and BT38/24) went to Spain and France.
That leaves just one, BT38/23, which remained, unused, in England during 1973 but then disappeared at the end of 1973. It may also have gone to the US for Formula B/Atlantic.
In September 1974, Terry Hedrick drove a Brabham BT38 in a SCCA Regional at Blackhawk Farms. Hedrick is likely to have been the well-known drag racer from Elk Grove in the Chicago suburbs, just 80 miles from Blackhawk Farms. If so, this was probably only a guest drive and the most likely car that he could have driven was BT38/26, which had been advertised by Roy Witz from Arlington Heights, just a few miles from Hedrick, just three weeks earlier.
Alfonso Tórmez in his Brabham BT38 at Subida a Tosos in 1979. Copyright Enric Guillamot 2024. Used with permission.
Eugenio Baturone raced an "ex-Jaussaud" Brabham BT38 in Spanish hill climbs in 1973. Reports in Spain say that this car was BT38/18, Jean-Pierre Jaussaud's regular car, but he also drove BT38/24 on at least two occasions after badly damaging BT38/18. The car continued in Spanish hillclimbs with José Teixidó in 1974, first appearing at Sant Feliu de Codinas in September 1974, and he retained the car for the 1975, 1976 and 1977 seasons. The car then went to Luis Lopez for the 1978 season, then to Alfonso Tórmez for 1979. After some time hillclimbing the car, Tórmez suffered a serious accident during testing and destroyed the BT38.
Driven by: Eugenio Baturone and José Teixidó. First race: Montserrat, 1 Apr 1973. Total of 11 recorded races.
Michel Lateste bought an "ex-Potocki" Brabham BT38 in pieces, and fitted an 1800cc Ford engine of unknown derivation for the French hill climb championship. He first appeared in May 1974, mainly running in lesser events. He started 1975 with the Brabham, scoring several good second places, and in June bought the ex-Philippe Hesnault March 742-BMW. The Brabham was raced by Patrick Chalot a couple of times, and then sold to Alain Saïdi, who fitted a 1600cc Ford BDA. Saïdi appeared once in the Brabham in 1976, but had returned to his much older Lotus 69-FVA in 1978. The subsequent history of the Brabham is unknown.
Driven by: Michel Lateste, Patrick Chalot and Alain Saïdi. First race: Bournezeau-Vendée, 19 May 1974. Total of 29 recorded races.
Brabham BT38s from 1976 onwards
By the beginning of 1976, the BT38s were well scattered. A remarkable total of eight (BT38/1, BT38/14, BT38/15, BT38/16, BT38/19, BT38/22, BT38/26 and BT38/'33') had been sold to the US for what was now Formula Atlantic, and their locations in 1976 are covered on the Brabham BT38B page. The two cars that went into British sprints and hillclimbs (BT38/17 and BT38/28) were still competing regularly, BT38/12 was still in use in South Africa, and the two ex-ASCA cars (BT38/18 and BT38/24) that went to Spain and France were still hillclimbing. Of the cars that we can no longer see competing by 1976, BT38/21 appears to have remained in Switzerland until recently, and BT38/27 similarly appears to have remained in Northern Ireland. That takes us up to 15. Of the original 20, two (BT38/11 and BT38/20) were wrecked during the 1972 season, two more (Claudio Francisci's BT38/13 and Wilson Fittipaldi's BT38/25) have not been seen since the end of the 1972 season, and the final car, Peter Westbury's BT38/23, has not been seen since December 1973.
Previous versions of this page listed two mystery BT38s that appeared in Britain in 1977, both of which had been fitted with Falconer bodywork. Recent research by Marcus Pye has established that they were both ex-Formula 3 BT38Cs.
David Miller, a member of the SCCA's Chicago Region, raced a Brabham BT38 in Midwest Council and SCCA Regional events in 1978. Nothing more known.
Driven by: David Miller. First race: Blackhawk Farms, 9 Jul 1978. Total of 2 recorded races.
Andrew Hibberd in the family Brabham BT38 at Silverstone in October 2015. Copyright Keith Lewcock 2021. Used with permission.
Michael Hibberd (Langley, Berkshire) has raced a Brabham BT38 in Rondel livery in Historic F2 in Europe since 2008. Hibberd acquired the car via Chris Alford from Switzerland and it has AM number AM72/32, which implies a car built a little over half way through Brabham's 1972 production. The car also has a chassis plate BT38/32, but it seems likely that this was mistakenly created from the AM number at some time in the car's past.
David Jackson's Brabham BT38 in the paddock at Castle Combe c1987. Copyright Ted Walker 2021. Used with permission.
David Jackson (West Chiltington, West Sussex) raced a Brabham BT38 in 1600cc Classic F3 races from 1987 to 1991. The car was given a HVIF in the UK as "BT38/23" in March 1992, and was next seen near Orleans in France in 2000 when it was owned by Pierre Regnault. In 2014, this car was advertised from Kaenerkinden in Switzerland, at which time it had been completely dismantled and the black tub shown on the HVIF was now accompanied by a blue tub, one of which was said to have minor damage. This car - or 1½ cars - was advertised by Lutziger Classic Cars around this time, and was sold to Maurice Khawam (Lakewood, CA) in early 2017. Khawam commented that one monocoque had chassis plate "BT38-23" and the other had no plate.
In addition to the above, an unknown Brabham BT38 was driven by Terry Hedrick.
Acknowledgements
A detailed description of the BT38 can be found in Autosport 10 Feb 1972 pp28-29.
Please contact Allen Brown (allen@oldracingcars.com) if you can add anything to our understanding of these cars.
These histories last updated on .